Black Killer Whale Baby - Chapter 155

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 155
I raised my eyebrows sharply.
Well, well, well—look at this.
I couldn’t help but smile inwardly at the absurdity of it all.
Yet outwardly, I blinked my eyes as though slightly excited.
Let them think me clever; in the end, I was merely a child in their eyes.
Carelessness is the companion of crisis.
“…Is that truly so?”
“Yes, I am the Dragon Duke’s most trusted personal retainer.”
The retainer displayed his splendid garments with pride. It was hardly amusing.
The image of the real Dragon Duke clad in shabby attire refused to fade from my memory.
“Very well. Show me the way.”
Let me see what scheme lies behind this, at least.
At my declaration, the Orca Family Knights seemed somewhat flustered.
I gestured for them to remain, then followed the retainer. They likely understood my gesture to wait.
“Yes, this way, please.”
I noticed his gaze occasionally looking down upon me, but I feigned ignorance.
“To meet the Dragon Duke—how thrilling.”
Let’s see who laughs last, you bastard.
Who could have orchestrated this scheme?
* * *
The retainer led me to a garden.
“Haha. Though the Dragon Duke is still recovering from his illness, it seems he was curious about his bride’s face.”
“Is that so?”
“Indeed. He even said he wished to see you and jumped from his bed.”
The retainer’s words grew progressively lighter as we walked.
Though it was clear he was looking down on me as a child, rather than acting stubborn or precocious as before, I instead.
Played the role of a bright-eyed child.
“Is his illness quite severe?”
“Well… truthfully, it wasn’t so bad at first, but over several months it worsened, and recently he’s even fallen into unconsciousness….”
Unconsciousness?
“*Ahem*.”
“Ah! Haha, it’s nothing for the bride to concern herself with.”
When the knight accompanying the retainer coughed awkwardly, the retainer broke into a cold sweat and hurriedly concluded his words.
‘…So Tus’s illness was real after all.’
My heart ached.
I had suspected as much, but I had hoped I was wrong. I knew you couldn’t have been well, left alone like that, yet I had prayed for your health.
Think positively.
It was fortunate that I arrived here before things worsened.
One more thing.
Tus’s true identity had not yet been exposed. These people did not know that the Dragon Duke had been switched out.
“We’ve arrived.”
After passing through a place where flowers bloomed, I stepped into a rather desolate space, and the Retainer came to a halt.
“If you wait here, the Dragon Duke will come.”
I stared at the Retainer for a moment, then spoke with a smile.
“Really? Him?”
“Yes, of course.”
“The Dragon Duke is ill, and I heard he even lost consciousness recently. Wouldn’t it be better for me to go to his quarters instead?”
“Eh? Ah, haha… The Duke, well, he dislikes people coming to his quarters. And the loss of consciousness—I misspoke about that. Ahem, he’s fine now.”
“I see. Why a flower garden of all places?”
I looked around at the garden.
In truth, I did not care for gardens.
“Ah, is that person a hostage from Aquasiadel? Ugh, the stench.”
“Look how cowed she is. Poor thing.”
A beautifully maintained garden had always been a symbol of contempt to me.
“The Dragon Duke is fond of flowers. Perhaps he wishes to meet his Bride here?”
The Retainer chuckled, now laughing with ease. His gaze was utterly contemptuous.
I fixed my eyes on the Retainer and spoke.
“You’re lying.”
“…Pardon?”
I turned my head toward the quiet thicket and spoke calmly.
“All these presences approaching now—you brought quite a lot of them, didn’t you?”
The Retainer faltered.
“Th-that’s…”
“The knights you brought beside you weren’t enough?”
“Ha, haha. What on earth are you talking about?”
His expression suggested I couldn’t possibly have noticed.
“Why, did you think you couldn’t capture one small Orca young boy alone? Is that why you brought such a large force?”
I dropped my smile entirely.
“Ah, you’re quite skilled at concealing your presence. High-grade personnel, I presume?”
“…”
I clenched and unclenched my fist, surveying my surroundings.
Instead of the speechless Retainer, the swordsmen behind him stepped forward.
“Impressive, however you managed to notice.”
“So you are the child of Pierre Aquasiadel after all?”
I had known from the start that the Retainer was a decoy and these men were the real threat.
Soon, figures emerged from all directions, each dressed in black garments.
And someone from the group stepped forward.
A face I despised to look upon.
It was Asel Panterion.
“Calypso Aquasiadel.”
The moment he called my name, I felt a smirk threatening to escape.
To think I’d witness his childhood self again.
All I remember about him is that arrogant face.
Always the same expression.
I glanced around deliberately, letting tension show through while awkwardly laughing as if I wasn’t bothered.
Making it obvious I was caught off guard.
“What is this? I took a wild guess and hit the mark? How should I interpret this?”
“….”
“The Dragon Duke called for me, so I came, only to find threatening knights and the Black Panther Prince himself appearing in person. Is this perhaps a declaration of war against our Aquasiadel?”
“Not at all. What are you talking about? I’ve merely come as a guide.”
A guide, he says. Just like the retainer, his gaze was clearly one of contempt.
“I’ll need to accompany you.”
I’d already suspected it, but this confirmed my certainty.
‘So that’s why those Black Panther bastards so readily opened Peseum.’
They had a different target in mind.
“Before that, I want to ask one thing… You’re the Black Panther Prince, aren’t you?”
“And?”
I trembled like a child putting on airs, gritting my teeth.
“You’re beneath me, the Dragon’s Bride, so why are you speaking informally?”
The surrounding knights bristled and stepped forward. Assel raised one hand and nodded at me.
It was an insufferably arrogant greeting.
“My sincerest apologies, Bride. I shall escort you.”
“…Where am I supposed to go?”
“This way.”
His polite speech was meaningless given his attitude, but the fact that this arrogant bastard had changed it at all held significance.
What they were targeting became even clearer. It was none other than me.
Interesting.
‘So that’s how it is.’
They treat anything that isn’t theirs with savage brutality.
I relaxed my grip slightly.
“Where is the Dragon Duke?”
“He should be where we’re headed.”
I answered brightly, eyes wide. The reconnaissance was over.
“What bullshit.”
“What?”
Assel approached but stopped in his tracks.
“You really haven’t changed.”
He must have sensed the fighting spirit flowing from me.
Words I’d wanted to say for a long time.
“How revolting—hiding such sinister intentions behind that expressionless face.”
“I’m not sure what you mean.”
An emotionless visage. For the first time, bewilderment flickered across it.
I turned my head to gaze at something behind me, feeling the wind that blew from that direction, then turned back.
‘Good. This support will be more than sufficient.’
I smiled faintly and discarded the role of a frightened child.
My fingers snapped toward the Knights.
“If you have business with me, tell the Dragon Duke to come himself. My father is searching for me so desperately, after all.”
I knew exactly how to twist that boy’s arrogant expression.
“You want to take me with you?”
I spread my legs into a combat stance, loosening my neck with deliberate rolls.
Boom!
Just as my father had once struck the plaza floor with his foot, my own foot came down with identical force.
A massive chasm split open between us.
“Do as you please.”
As the dust settled, I tilted my head with arrogant confidence.
“But one condition—you’ll need to be stronger than me.”
While they all froze in shock, I stomped the ground. In combat, hesitation is nothing short of defeat.
“A-Attack!”
By the time the nearest Knight realized what was happening, it was already too late.
Crash!
A sound so tremendous erupted that it seemed impossible it came from a man falling.
“Oh dear, what a problem. If such a loud commotion echoes like this, there’s no point in bringing me to a secluded location, is there?”
“….”
“Attack immediately!”
Facing the charging Knights brought back memories of brawling with Baian’s gang five years ago.
“Damn it, be careful! That’s Pierre’s daughter!”
“Excuse me, why are you calling someone else’s father by name so carelessly?”
“Ugh!”
“Surround her! Capture her!”
The fight resembled that earlier one, though it was far more tedious.
One opponent with each strike.
‘One punch, three down—you bastards!’
Not a single one could withstand my honed fists.
I wrapped my leg around one man’s neck and yanked with force.
With a sickening crack, he shrieked his death cry before crumpling to the ground.
‘These fools aren’t even worth a post-meal exercise.’
Such thoughts were only possible for someone like me, who had long surpassed the level of a mere successor.
“Your subordinates seem too incompetent to even execute an encirclement properly.”
By the time I dusted off my hands, only one man—Assel—remained standing on the ground with both feet planted firmly.
“….”
“What will you do? People wondering what’s happening from far away will come running. Should I spread the word a bit?”
I turned my head calmly.
“The Black Panthers have spirited away the Dragon’s Bride.”
“That conclusion will just be baseless. You attacked first. Do you think you’ll walk away unscathed like this?”
“Whether it becomes baseless or the Black Panthers’ shame, we’ll see. Oh, and another thing. I’m not done fighting yet.”
I smiled wickedly and flicked my fingers.
“It ends when you’re lying here too. Isn’t that right?”
Assel clenched his teeth hard. The grinding sound alone was exceptional.
A rather pleasant melody, one might say.
“Insolent….”
Around Assel, earth fragments and rocks began to levitate.
The ground trembles.
It’s the ‘power of earth’ that those beasts use. I leaped from my spot and dodged to the side.
As if waiting for this moment, a hole opened beneath my feet.
As if that wasn’t enough, boulders flew toward me.
The rocks defying gravity were nothing but vicious. I evaded calmly while thinking.
‘Hmm, this bastard…. He seems stronger than I thought.’
But regardless, it didn’t matter. If he can’t land a hit, that’s that.
“Did you say insolent?”
Besides.
“That word means….”
I moved lightly on my feet.
Those who don’t know manners need to learn through their body.
Assel’s expression turned to shock as my face suddenly appeared close to his.
“Only the strong get to say that. You arrogant bastard.”
Crack!
My fist grazed his cheek.
‘Oh, he’s flying quite satisfyingly.’
Is it done?

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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